As our 2015 year ends, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to making it so successful and memorable. It’s a very long list!
Yukusam Heritage Society for permission to use Hanson Island as our operations base, with special thanks to Harry Alfred and Rachel Dalton of the Namgis First Nation.
David and Brittney Cannamore, with their cat Porter and rabbit Penny for looking after Hanson Island last winter through springtime this year. They headed off to Alaska for the summer and returned to Hanson Island to continue caretaking in November. If you check out their blog (raincoastwanderings.com) you’ll get some idea of the effort they’ve put into keeping the Lab systems going. Incredible!
Mark Worthing and Jesse Howardson for caretaking in May and creating a great new garden box that provided us with delicious summer salad greens.
Steve Lacasse and Sun Fun Divers for re-establishing our mooring after winter storms had taken it away.
Telus Services for expediting the installation of our new fiber optic Internet connection in time for summer.
Charlie Weingarten, whose inspiration created explore.org, along with Tom Pollak, Jonathan Silvio and Ann Haggart who manage Explore’s incredible worldwide network of live cameras.
Explore.org’s great technical crew led by Tim Sears for their heroic work on our remote camera network and connecting the cameras live to the Internet.
JStream for continuing to stream live audio from our hydrophone network.
Shun Kuriyama for his help with the orca-live web site.
Anna Spong for technical support.
BC Parks for permits that allow us to operate remote hydrophones and cameras in key orca habitat.
Larry Roy, with Twyla Roscovich, Paul Ross and friends, who moved our new stove from Alert Bay to Hanson Island, bringing it on shore and into our house. Huge job! Thanks also to Dave Towers who figured out how to get the stove from our boat onto Larry’s.
Mike Durban for installing our new kitchen stove, along with numerous carpentry and maintenance jobs at the Lab and our remote sites.
Mark McCallum for installing a new metal roof on our Lab, with special thanks to Bec McGuire for organizing the cleanup. Mark also returned later to do further repairs, helped by his friend Lexie.
Bill and Wendy Thompson for moving 8 huge new batteries to CP.
Lynn Klassen and Darryl Harris (2 Dive 4) for dives on 2 of our hydrophones
Tides Canada and World Wildlife Fund Canada, for funding our new ICListen digital hydrophone, along with Ocean Sonics for assisting with software. Special thanks to Kathy Heise and Hussein Aldina for making it happen.
Tom Dakin, John Joynt and Peter Marshall for configuring the ICListen hydrophone. Special thanks to Roger McDonnell and Jackie Hildering for installing it at Critical Point.
Herve Glotin and Julien Ricard for setting up remote multi channel monitoring of our hydrophone network.
David Howitt and Barbara Bender for coming up to reinstall one of our network radios.
Marty Henschell and Jim Twin for maintaining our boats.
Jim Borrowman and the Gikumi, with Christie McMillan & Marie Fournier (MERS) for coming to the rescue when our main vessel June Cove broke down.
Stubbs Island Charters, Mackay Whalewatching and Seasmoke Whalewatchng for continuous support.
Marie Fournier and her crew for sightings reports and stalwart vigilance on the “Cliff”.
Jared Towers for his keen eye, camera skills and willingness to share his knowledge.
Bill ter Brugge for consultations regarding our remote hydrophones.
Lori Freiburger, Michael Reppy Christine Caruso and Mark Palmer for keeping Corky’s dream of escape from SeaWorld and returning home alive, and Michael Deakin for bringing Corky’s story to his radio audience.
Our summer assistants: Stephanie Chanvalon, Megan Hockin-Bennett, Megan Howes, Momoko Kobayashi, Chelsea Meney, Tomoko Mitsuya, Shari Campbell, Katherine Jefferson, Julien Ricard, Dylan Smyth, Krisztina Balotay.
Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Born Free Foundation, Earth Island Institute, Earthtrust, Greenpeace, The Annenberg Foundation and everyone who has contributed financially to our work at OrcaLab. We are especially grateful to all those who send us monthly donations.
The board of Pacific Orca Society and our accountants McIntosh Norton Williams.
Thanks also to our many visitors.
We feel so fortunate to be arriving at the last day of this year.
Now, 2016 beckons
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!
